First Day, Hooray! by: Nancy Poydar

Ages: 4-8

It is the day before the first day of school. Young Ivy Green, the bus driver, the school janitor, the principal, and Ivy’s teacher each have a lot to do. There are new shoes to buy, bus routes to memorize, floors to be polished, notes to go over, and name tags to be made. Each person has night-before jitters and nerve-induced dreams. Will the first day of school turn out just right? Read First Day, Hooray! to find out!

First Day, Hooray! is an exploration of the anxiety and joy experienced before and during the first day of school. Many people can relate to this book, including students, parents, teachers, principals, janitors, and bus drivers. The brightly colored illustrations are simple and dominate the pages. They capture the anxiety and excitement of the characters in the story. The illustrations flow well with the text. The text in this book is different and neat. It flows from child to adult experiences, from morning to night and back to morning, and from excitement and nerves to reflection. This book shows that a lot of time, work, and thinking go into the first day of school. This book shows the reader that the first day of school will end up being just fine. First Day, Hooray! is a cute book that anybody who experiences a first day of school should read!